Jollibee have perfected the art of FFC (Filipino Fried Chicken).
When it comes to fried chicken, Londoners are a discerning bunch (see The Chicken Connoisseur for more on this). So the hungry and curious alike will most likely be drawn to Filipino fried chicken shop Jollibee, which opened in Earls Court back in 2018, and will now open a flagship restaurant in Leicester Square on May 20, 2021. Whilst the capital is pretty well stocked with finger-licking outlets already, this one causes a fair bit of excitement whenever it appears! [Featured image: @jollibee]
That’s putting it mildly; when Jollibee opened their first European restaurant in Milan in early 2018, people queued for nine hours to get inside. London, naturally, managed to top that, with some chicken fanatics holding the fort for a frankly staggering eighteen hours for a first taste. Now that is real dedication to tenders.
From far and wide, they came for Jollibee’s crispy fried chicken – known as Chickenjoy – which has won plaudits wherever it appears. Far from being a one trick pony, they also offer a range of fast-food classics with a tropical twist. For instance, their oddly sweet-but-inviting spaghetti boasts no less a fan than the late Anthony Bourdain, who proclaimed Jollibee “the wackiest, jolliest place on Earth”.
If you needed further evidence of their offbeat happiness, witness their relentlessly cheerful mascot, who maintains a pretty active lifestyle:
The thought of being envious of a person in a giant insect costume had never crossed my mind before, but hey, life’s a funny old game…
Location: 180-182 Earls Court Road, SW5 9QG (nearest station is Earls Court) and 22 Leicester Square, WC2H 7LE (nearest station is Leicester Square).
Opening hours: 8am-11pm, seven days a week
Price: one chickenjoy with a side and a drink comes in at £4.